Benefits of Slurry Fuels Based on Industrial Wastes

Abstract

Most industrial waste (mainly from raw-materials processing) consists of materials with relatively high calorific value. Their direct combustion to produce thermal and electrical energy is environmentally undesirable. An alternative approach is to convert the waste to slurry fuel, by forming suspensions in water. In the present work, the benefits of this approach are assessed by comparing the characteristics of slurry combustion with those of coal and fuel-oil combustion. The following factors are taken into account in the assessment: the ignition time delay; the minimum ignition temperature; the duration of combustion; the maximum combustion temperature; the heat of combustion; and the emissions of sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides. The cost of the components is also considered. The assessment shows that the effectiveness of the fuel suspensions may be as much as 50 times that of coal. Predictions show that thermal and electrical energy generation by the combustion of the proposed slurry fuels in industrial regions could supply up to 10% of annual energy requirements.